HAM/1/4/3/26
Letter from Jane Holman to Mary Hamilton, with a note to John Dickenson
Diplomatic Text
35 Aldgate High St: London.
Dec: 12th: 1807.
My dear Cousin,
I received your most kind and friendly
letter, of the 9th:, yesterday; and, lest you should
for a moment accuse me of not giving due
consideration to the advice contained in
it, I will begin by telling you, in my own
vindication, that I engaged Lodgings
for myself, in Duke Street, Manchester
Square, the day before. I should be very
sorry to incur merited disapprobation from
any one; but particularly, from such kind
and anxious friends as you and Mr:
Dickenson: I therefore, (as you allow me
to write without reserve) will explain
the motives for this step; in which I have
proceeded by my dear Father's expreʃs advice.
In the first place, (as I have already men-
tioned) the air of Bath certainly does not
agree with me: this was a verythe most material,
but not the only, objection to a constant resi-
dence there. My spirits are, of course, so
much injured by the affliction I have recently
experienced, as to require more diversion
of mind, by mixing in the world, than I ever
cared for, before. Tho' I should never enter
into what could be termed diʃsipation, I
could not without deranging my Father's
mode of living, accomplish this; as he never
has a creature in his own house, except
morning visitors, or ever goes to any party
of an Evening. My coming home, too, (admitting
that I sought an hour's or two's relaxation,
out) must disturb him, as his hou time for
retiring, is earlier than eleven, and even
at Bath, nothing is over, sooner than that.
When I was with him, as I did not expect
it to last, hoping better conduct from Mr: H.,
I made up my mind to accomodate my-
self to every thing; but when the prospect
changed, he and I, fairly discuʃsed the point;
and he agreed that the modes of life of two
people of such unequal ages, could not be sup-
posed to accord. But there is still a greater
reason than I have yet adduced; which, as
in confidence, I will tell you. If I were
to fix myself permanently at my Father's, Mr: H.
would think himself justified in supposing that I
wanted for nothing, and I should probably not
receive a Sixpence from him. Now, tho' my
Father would not let me want for any thing,
there would be no justice in this. However,
so unwilling was I to wear the least semblance
of want of affection or ingratitude to so kind
and generous a Father, that I consulted him
as to whether I might not reside in Bath, in
Lodgings of my own, in order to be near him;
and finally, begged his decisive advice, saying
I would implicitly abide by it, be it what it
might. He then counselled my taking a residence
to a specified amount, in London, the expence
of which he would aʃsist me in defraying. I
mean [to spe]nd much of my time with him,
tho' I have it; but it will be a great conve-
nience, for the purpose of stowing various articles
belonging to me that I must now collect, as
which would encumber him; and will further,
answer the purpose of removing the idea from
the other party, that I am at no expence. I
have promised to visit my Father, after I am a
little settled, and the weather becomes tolerable;
and, either before or after that visit, I purpose
availing myself of your so often repeated cordial
invitation. I shall be anxious to know that you and
Mr: Dickenson acquit me of blame, upon the ex-
planation I have made. I could even make it
fuller, verbally; but see what room it takes on
paper. I must, however, add that when I left
my dear Father, I expected the pleasure of seeing him
again, in about a week, as he purposed coming to
town upon busineʃs; but the busineʃs was retarded
till the weather broke up, and he then concluded
it by letter. Love to my Cousin Louisa. Mrs: Mann
desires best thanks for your kind remembrance.
Ever your oblig'd & affecte.
Jane Holman
P.S. I do not remove for a week.[1]
▼
Ld. Aldborough: they will not be in London
before March, as Ly. E: is to lie-in in Ireland.[2]
My dear Sir,
I refer you to Mrs: Dickenson for all
communication; but write this line to yourself,
to thank you for your extreme kindneʃs, and to say
with what pleasure I look to visiting you at Leighton
House, when I can accomplish it. I am, my dear Sir
your most obliged
J: Holman.[3]
Mrs: Dickenson[4]
Leighton House
Leighton Buzzard
Bedfordshire[5]
red text is normalised and/or unformatted in other panel)
Notes
1. This postscript appears to the left of the closing salutation and signature.
2. Moved second postscript here from right side of address panel in centre of p.3 when unfolded, written vertically.
3. These lines appear below the address when unfolded; they are addressed to John Dickenson (c1757-1842), husband of Mary Hamilton.
4. Postmark 'A DEC 12 [1]807' to left of address when unfolded.
5. Moved address panel here from centre of p.3 when unfolded, written vertically.
Normalised Text
35 Aldgate High Street London.
December 12th: 1807.
My dear Cousin,
I received your most kind and friendly
letter, of the 9th:, yesterday; and, lest you should
for a moment accuse me of not giving due
consideration to the advice contained in
it, I will begin by telling you, in my own
vindication, that I engaged Lodgings
for myself, in Duke Street, Manchester
Square, the day before. I should be very
sorry to incur merited disapprobation from
any one; but particularly, from such kind
and anxious friends as you and Mr:
Dickenson: I therefore, (as you allow me
to write without reserve) will explain
the motives for this step; in which I have
proceeded by my dear Father's express advice.
In the first place, (as I have already mentioned
) the air of Bath certainly does not
agree with me: this was the most material,
but not the only, objection to a constant residence
there. My spirits are, of course, so
much injured by the affliction I have recently
experienced, as to require more diversion
of mind, by mixing in the world, than I ever
cared for, before. Though I should never enter
into what could be termed dissipation, I
could not without deranging my Father's
mode of living, accomplish this; as he never
has a creature in his own house, except
morning visitors, or ever goes to any party
of an Evening. My coming home, too, (admitting
that I sought an hour or two's relaxation,
out) must disturb him, as his time for
retiring, is earlier than eleven, and even
at Bath, nothing is over, sooner than that.
When I was with him, as I did not expect
it to last, hoping better conduct from Mr: Holman,
I made up my mind to accommodate myself
to every thing; but when the prospect
changed, he and I, fairly discussed the point;
and he agreed that the modes of life of two
people of such unequal ages, could not be supposed
to accord. But there is still a greater
reason than I have yet adduced; which,
in confidence, I will tell you. If I were
to fix myself permanently at my Father's, Mr: Holman
would think himself justified in supposing that I
wanted for nothing, and I should probably not
receive a Sixpence from him. Now, though my
Father would not let me want for any thing,
there would be no justice in this. However,
so unwilling was I to wear the least semblance
of want of affection or ingratitude to so kind
and generous a Father, that I consulted him
as to whether I might not reside in Bath, in
Lodgings of my own, in order to be near him;
and finally, begged his decisive advice, saying
I would implicitly abide by it, be it what it
might. He then counselled my taking a residence
to a specified amount, in London, the expense
of which he would assist me in defraying. I
mean to spend much of my time with him,
though I have it; but it will be a great convenience
, for the purpose of stowing various articles
belonging to me that I must now collect,
which would encumber him; and will further,
answer the purpose of removing the idea from
the other party, that I am at no expense. I
have promised to visit my Father, after I am a
little settled, and the weather becomes tolerable;
and, either before or after that visit, I purpose
availing myself of your so often repeated cordial
invitation. I shall be anxious to know that you and
Mr: Dickenson acquit me of blame, upon the explanation
I have made. I could even make it
fuller, verbally; but see what room it takes on
paper. I must, however, add that when I left
my dear Father, I expected the pleasure of seeing him
again, in about a week, as he purposed coming to
town upon business; but the business was retarded
till the weather broke up, and he then concluded
it by letter. Love to my Cousin Louisa. Mrs: Mann
desires best thanks for your kind remembrance.
Ever your obliged & affectionate
Jane Holman
P.S. I do not remove for a week.
▼
Lord Aldborough: they will not be in London
before March, as Lady Emily is to lie-in in Ireland.
My dear Sir,
I refer you to Mrs: Dickenson for all
communication; but write this line to yourself,
to thank you for your extreme kindness, and to say
with what pleasure I look to visiting you at Leighton
House, when I can accomplish it. I am, my dear Sir
your most obliged
Jane Holman.
Mrs: Dickenson
Leighton House
Leighton Buzzard
Bedfordshire
quotations, spellings, uncorrected forms, split words, abbreviations, formatting)
Notes
Metadata
Library References
Repository: John Rylands Research Institute and Library, University of Manchester
Archive: Mary Hamilton Papers
Item title: Letter from Jane Holman to Mary Hamilton, with a note to John Dickenson
Shelfmark: HAM/1/4/3/26
Correspondence Details
Sender: Jane Holman (née Hamilton)
Place sent: London
Addressee: Mary Hamilton and John Dickenson
Place received: Leighton Buzzard
Date sent: 12 December 1807
Letter Description
Summary: Letter from Mrs Jane Holman née Hamilton to Mary Hamilton, in which she explains her reasons for leaving Bath and her father's house for London. The air in Bath does not agree with Jane Holman and the 'affliction' she has suffered through the separation from her husband has made her require 'more diversion of mind, by moving in the world, than I ever cared for, before'. Her father's mode of living does not suit Jane Holman. He does not attend parties of an evening, and other than morning visitors does not have 'a creature in his own house'. He retires before eleven o'clock and so she would disturb him when she returns from entertainments, as 'even at Bath, nothing is over, sooner than that'. She has discussed this with her father, who agrees that the differences in their ages may prevent their living in 'accord'. She continues that a more important reason for her moving from Bath is that her husband 'would think himself justified in supposing that I wanted for nothing, and I should probably not receive a sixpence from him'. Jane Holman thanks Hamilton for her advice and for her friendship.
The letter concludes with a note addressed to John Dickenson.
Dated at 35 Aldgate High Street [London].
Length: 1 sheet, 788 words
Transliteration Information
Editorial declaration: First edited in the project 'Image to Text' (David Denison & Nuria Yáñez-Bouza, 2013-2019), now incorporated in the project 'Unlocking the Mary Hamilton Papers' (Hannah Barker, Sophie Coulombeau, David Denison, Tino Oudesluijs, Cassandra Ulph, Christine Wallis & Nuria Yáñez-Bouza, 2019-2023).
All quotation marks are retained in the text and are represented by appropriate Unicode characters. Words split across two lines may have a hyphen on the first, the second or both fragments (reco-|ver, imperfect|-ly, satisfacti-|-on); or a double hyphen (pur=|port, dan|=ger, qua=|=litys); or none (respect|ing). Any point in abbreviations with superscripted letter(s) is placed last, regardless of relative left-right orientation in the original. Thus, Mrs. or Mrs may occur, but M.rs or Mr.s do not.
Acknowledgements: XML version: Research Assistant funding in 2014/15 and 2015/16 provided by the Department of Linguistics and English Language, University of Manchester.
Research assistant: Isabella Formisano, former MA student, University of Manchester
Research assistant: Carla Seabra-Dacosta, MA student, University of Vigo
Transliterator: Rose Halligan, undergraduate student, University of Manchester (submitted May 2016)
Cataloguer: Lisa Crawley, Archivist, The John Rylands Library
Cataloguer: John Hodgson, Head of Special Collections, John Rylands Research Institute and Library
Copyright: Transcriptions, notes and TEI/XML © the editors
Revision date: 3 October 2023